people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" (Renstrom 723). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also argues that "mandatory uniforms violate students free expression right" (King, screen 3). When wearing uniforms children feel like they have limits on their personal expression. To illustrate, Students perceive their clothing as a way to explicit their emotions, show their creative abilities, express their opinions, and display individualism; if they have to wear uniforms to school the students opportunity to reveal their personality is eliminated. Newsweek reports that some teachers and principals sympathize with the students. A principal at a middle school in Sherman Oaks, California, Norman Isaacs believes that with a students clothing a teacher can get insights on what is going on in the students personal life. He states, "our counselors and teachers monitor the way kids are dressed if we see a big change in the way a student dresses, that sends a signal and tells us we need to address that person" (qtd in "Uniforms Rule", screen 2). Students feel that uniforms at school create a military environment. An environment where everyone is dressed the same and in that same manner must act alike, exhibit the same personalities, and have the same opinions. Parents also do not want to pay the added expense of uniforms for their children. For instance, parents feel like they would have to pay for two sets of clothes, school and play. Keith King describes a situation in California, in 1995 a lawsuit was filed against the Long Beach Unified School District by the ACLU on behalf of low-income families. The lawsuit claimed that, "the district fails to help low-income students purchase uniforms and punishes students who do not wear them." The ACLU also claimed, " the district does not adequately inform parents about their rights to request exemption from the program." ACLU attornies a...
